Author: Gist Correspondent

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the State Police Bill, marking a significant step toward the decentralisation of Nigeria’s policing system.

The bill was approved during plenary after 289 lawmakers voted in support of the proposal, which seeks to establish state-controlled police formations as part of efforts to address growing insecurity across the country. The session was presided over by Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas.

The House had earlier scheduled Thursday’s sitting for deliberation and voting on the bill following increasing concerns over killings, kidnappings, banditry, and other violent crimes in several parts of the country.

Proceedings, however, witnessed a brief controversy when a member representing Kaduna State, Bashir Zubairu, raised a point of order. He argued that lawmakers received the report on the proposed state police framework prepared by the House Committee on Constitution Review only on Thursday afternoon, giving members limited time to study the document before voting.

Despite the objection, the House proceeded with the exercise and secured overwhelming support for the bill.

The passage of the legislation is expected to advance ongoing constitutional reforms aimed at restructuring Nigeria’s security architecture and enhancing the capacity of subnational governments to tackle local security challenges.